Control Elements in a Wireless Device and Wireless Network

ABSTRACT

A wireless device transmits a power headroom report media access control control element (PHR MAC CE). The PHR MAC CE comprises a presence field comprising a plurality of presence bits. The presence field is of a fixed size of one octet when up to seven of the one or more secondary cells are each configured with a cell index having a value between one and seven. The presence field is of a fixed size of four octets when the one or more secondary cells comprise more than seven secondary cells with configured uplinks.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.62/148,021, filed Apr. 15, 2015, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Examples of several of the various embodiments of the present inventionare described herein with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram depicting example sets of OFDM subcarriers as per anaspect of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram depicting an example transmission time and receptiontime for two carriers in a carrier group as per an aspect of anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram depicting OFDM radio resources as per an aspect ofan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a base station and a wireless device as peran aspect of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5A, FIG. 5B, FIG. 5C and FIG. 5D are example diagrams for uplinkand downlink signal transmission as per an aspect of an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 6 is an example diagram for a protocol structure with CA and DC asper an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an example diagram for a protocol structure with CA and DC asper an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 shows example TAG configurations as per an aspect of anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an example message flow in a random access process in asecondary TAG as per an aspect of an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 10 is an example grouping of cells into PUCCH groups as per anaspect of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 illustrates example groupings of cells into one or more PUCCHgroups and one or more TAGs as per an aspect of an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 12 illustrates example groupings of cells into one or more PUCCHgroups and one or more TAGs as per an aspect of an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 13 is an example MAC PDU as per an aspect of an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 14A and 14B are examples activation/deactivation MAC CE as per anaspect of an example embodiment.

FIG. 15 is an example MAC subheader for a A/D MAC CE as per an aspect ofan example embodiment.

FIGS. 16A and 16B are examples of LCID and MAC CE as per an aspect of anexample embodiment.

FIGS. 17A and 17B are examples of PHR MAC CE presence fields as per anaspect of an example embodiment.

FIGS. 18A and 18B are examples of PHR MAC CE as per an aspect of anexample embodiment.

FIG. 19 is an example of PHR MAC CE subheader as per an aspect of anexample embodiment.

FIG. 20 is an example flow diagram as per an aspect of an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 21 is an example flow diagram as per an aspect of an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 22 is an example flow diagram as per an aspect of an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 23 is an example flow diagram as per an aspect of an embodiment ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Example embodiments of the present invention enable operation of carrieraggregation in a wireless network. Embodiments of the technologydisclosed herein may be employed in the technical field of multicarriercommunication systems. More particularly, the embodiments of thetechnology disclosed herein may relate to operation of media accesscontrol in a wireless network employing carrier aggregation.

The following Acronyms are used throughout the present disclosure:

ASIC application-specific integrated circuit BPSK binary phase shiftkeying CA carrier aggregation CSI channel state information CDMA codedivision multiple access CSS common search space CPLD complexprogrammable logic devices CC component carrier DL downlink DCI downlinkcontrol information DC dual connectivity EPC evolved packet core E-UTRANevolved-universal terrestrial radio access network FPGA fieldprogrammable gate arrays FDD frequency division multiplexing HDLhardware description languages HARQ hybrid automatic repeat request IEinformation element LTE long term evolution MCG master cell group MeNBmaster evolved node B MIB master information block MAC media accesscontrol MAC media access control MME mobility management entity NASnon-access stratum OFDM orthogonal frequency division multiplexing PDCPpacket data convergence protocol PDU packet data unit PHY physical PDCCHphysical downlink control channel PHICH physical HARQ indicator channelPUCCH physical uplink control channel PUSCH physical uplink sharedchannel PCell primary cell PCell primary cell PCC primary componentcarrier PSCell primary secondary cell pTAG primary timing advance groupQAM quadrature amplitude modulation QPSK quadrature phase shift keyingRBG Resource Block Groups RLC radio link control RRC radio resourcecontrol RA random access RB resource blocks SCC secondary componentcarrier SCell secondary cell Scell secondary cells SCG secondary cellgroup SeNB secondary evolved node B sTAGs secondary timing advance groupSDU service data unit S-GW serving gateway SRB signaling radio bearerSC-OFDM single carrier-OFDM SFN system frame number SIB systeminformation block TAI tracking area identifier TAT time alignment timerTDD time division duplexing TDMA time division multiple access TA timingadvance TAG timing advance group TB transport block UL uplink UE userequipment VHDL VHSIC hardware description language

Example embodiments of the invention may be implemented using variousphysical layer modulation and transmission mechanisms. Exampletransmission mechanisms may include, but are not limited to: CDMA, OFDM,TDMA, Wavelet technologies, and/or the like. Hybrid transmissionmechanisms such as TDMA/CDMA, and OFDM/CDMA may also be employed.Various modulation schemes may be applied for signal transmission in thephysical layer. Examples of modulation schemes include, but are notlimited to: phase, amplitude, code, a combination of these, and/or thelike. An example radio transmission method may implement QAM using BPSK,QPSK, 16-QAM, 64-QAM, 256-QAM, and/or the like. Physical radiotransmission may be enhanced by dynamically or semi-dynamically changingthe modulation and coding scheme depending on transmission requirementsand radio conditions.

FIG. 1 is a diagram depicting example sets of OFDM subcarriers as per anaspect of an embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in thisexample, arrow(s) in the diagram may depict a subcarrier in amulticarrier OFDM system. The OFDM system may use technology such asOFDM technology, SC-OFDM technology, or the like. For example, arrow 101shows a subcarrier transmitting information symbols. FIG. 1 is forillustration purposes, and a typical multicarrier OFDM system mayinclude more subcarriers in a carrier. For example, the number ofsubcarriers in a carrier may be in the range of 10 to 10,000subcarriers. FIG. 1 shows two guard bands 106 and 107 in a transmissionband. As illustrated in FIG. 1, guard band 106 is between subcarriers103 and subcarriers 104. The example set of subcarriers A 102 includessubcarriers 103 and subcarriers 104. FIG. 1 also illustrates an exampleset of subcarriers B 105. As illustrated, there is no guard band betweenany two subcarriers in the example set of subcarriers B 105. Carriers ina multicarrier OFDM communication system may be contiguous carriers,non-contiguous carriers, or a combination of both contiguous andnon-contiguous carriers.

FIG. 2 is a diagram depicting an example transmission time and receptiontime for two carriers as per an aspect of an embodiment of the presentinvention. A multicarrier OFDM communication system may include one ormore carriers, for example, ranging from 1 to 10 carriers. Carrier A 204and carrier B 205 may have the same or different timing structures.Although FIG. 2 shows two synchronized carriers, carrier A 204 andcarrier B 205 may or may not be synchronized with each other. Differentradio frame structures may be supported for FDD and TDD duplexmechanisms. FIG. 2 shows an example FDD frame timing. Downlink anduplink transmissions may be organized into radio frames 201. In thisexample, radio frame duration is 10 msec. Other frame durations, forexample, in the range of 1 to 100 msec may also be supported. In thisexample, each 10 ms radio frame 201 may be divided into ten equallysized subframes 202. Other subframe durations such as including 0.5msec, 1 msec, 2 msec, and 5 msec may also be supported. Subframe(s) mayconsist of two or more slots (e.g. slots 206 and 207). For the exampleof FDD, 10 subframes may be available for downlink transmission and 10subframes may be available for uplink transmissions in each 10 msinterval. Uplink and downlink transmissions may be separated in thefrequency domain. Slot(s) may include a plurality of OFDM symbols 203.The number of OFDM symbols 203 in a slot 206 may depend on the cyclicprefix length and subcarrier spacing.

FIG. 3 is a diagram depicting OFDM radio resources as per an aspect ofan embodiment of the present invention. The resource grid structure intime 304 and frequency 305 is illustrated in FIG. 3. The quantity ofdownlink subcarriers or RBs (in this example 6 to 100 RBs) may depend,at least in part, on the downlink transmission bandwidth 306 configuredin the cell. The smallest radio resource unit may be called a resourceelement (e.g. 301). Resource elements may be grouped into resourceblocks (e.g. 302). Resource blocks may be grouped into larger radioresources called Resource Block Groups (RBG) (e.g. 303). The transmittedsignal in slot 206 may be described by one or several resource grids ofa plurality of subcarriers and a plurality of OFDM symbols. Resourceblocks may be used to describe the mapping of certain physical channelsto resource elements. Other pre-defined groupings of physical resourceelements may be implemented in the system depending on the radiotechnology. For example, 24 subcarriers may be grouped as a radio blockfor a duration of 5 msec. In an illustrative example, a resource blockmay correspond to one slot in the time domain and 180 kHz in thefrequency domain (for 15 KHz subcarrier bandwidth and 12 subcarriers).

FIG. 5A, FIG. 5B, FIG. 5C and FIG. 5D are example diagrams for uplinkand downlink signal transmission as per an aspect of an embodiment ofthe present invention. FIG. 5A shows an example uplink physical channel.The baseband signal representing the physical uplink shared channel mayperform the following processes. These functions are illustrated asexamples and it is anticipated that other mechanisms may be implementedin various embodiments. The functions may comprise scrambling,modulation of scrambled bits to generate complex-valued symbols, mappingof the complex-valued modulation symbols onto one or severaltransmission layers, transform precoding to generate complex-valuedsymbols, precoding of the complex-valued symbols, mapping of precodedcomplex-valued symbols to resource elements, generation ofcomplex-valued time-domain SC-FDMA signal for each antenna port, and/orthe like.

Example modulation and up-conversion to the carrier frequency of thecomplex-valued SC-FDMA baseband signal for each antenna port and/or thecomplex-valued PRACH baseband signal is shown in FIG. 5B. Filtering maybe employed prior to transmission.

An example structure for Downlink Transmissions is shown in FIG. 5C. Thebaseband signal representing a downlink physical channel may perform thefollowing processes. These functions are illustrated as examples and itis anticipated that other mechanisms may be implemented in variousembodiments. The functions include scrambling of coded bits in each ofthe codewords to be transmitted on a physical channel; modulation ofscrambled bits to generate complex-valued modulation symbols; mapping ofthe complex-valued modulation symbols onto one or several transmissionlayers; precoding of the complex-valued modulation symbols on each layerfor transmission on the antenna ports; mapping of complex-valuedmodulation symbols for each antenna port to resource elements;generation of complex-valued time-domain OFDM signal for each antennaport, and/or the like.

Example modulation and up-conversion to the carrier frequency of thecomplex-valued OFDM baseband signal for each antenna port is shown inFIG. 5D. Filtering may be employed prior to transmission.

FIG. 4 is an example block diagram of a base station 401 and a wirelessdevice 406, as per an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention.A communication network 400 may include at least one base station 401and at least one wireless device 406. The base station 401 may includeat least one communication interface 402, at least one processor 403,and at least one set of program code instructions 405 stored innon-transitory memory 404 and executable by the at least one processor403. The wireless device 406 may include at least one communicationinterface 407, at least one processor 408, and at least one set ofprogram code instructions 410 stored in non-transitory memory 409 andexecutable by the at least one processor 408. Communication interface402 in base station 401 may be configured to engage in communicationwith communication interface 407 in wireless device 406 via acommunication path that includes at least one wireless link 411.Wireless link 411 may be a bi-directional link. Communication interface407 in wireless device 406 may also be configured to engage in acommunication with communication interface 402 in base station 401. Basestation 401 and wireless device 406 may be configured to send andreceive data over wireless link 411 using multiple frequency carriers.According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, transceiver(s)may be employed. A transceiver is a device that includes both atransmitter and receiver. Transceivers may be employed in devices suchas wireless devices, base stations, relay nodes, and/or the like.Example embodiments for radio technology implemented in communicationinterface 402, 407 and wireless link 411 are illustrated are FIG. 1,FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 5, and associated text.

An interface may be a hardware interface, a firmware interface, asoftware interface, and/or a combination thereof. The hardware interfacemay include connectors, wires, electronic devices such as drivers,amplifiers, and/or the like. A software interface may include codestored in a memory device to implement protocol(s), protocol layers,communication drivers, device drivers, combinations thereof, and/or thelike. A firmware interface may include a combination of embeddedhardware and code stored in and/or in communication with a memory deviceto implement connections, electronic device operations, protocol(s),protocol layers, communication drivers, device drivers, hardwareoperations, combinations thereof, and/or the like.

The term configured may relate to the capacity of a device whether thedevice is in an operational or non-operational state. Configured mayalso refer to specific settings in a device that effect the operationalcharacteristics of the device whether the device is in an operational ornon-operational state. In other words, the hardware, software, firmware,registers, memory values, and/or the like may be “configured” within adevice, whether the device is in an operational or nonoperational state,to provide the device with specific characteristics. Terms such as “acontrol message to cause in a device” may mean that a control messagehas parameters that may be used to configure specific characteristics inthe device, whether the device is in an operational or non-operationalstate.

According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, an LTE networkmay include a multitude of base stations, providing a user planePDCP/RLC/MAC/PHY and control plane (RRC) protocol terminations towardsthe wireless device. The base station(s) may be interconnected withother base station(s) (e.g. employing an X2 interface). The basestations may also be connected employing, for example, an S1 interfaceto an EPC. For example, the base stations may be interconnected to theMME employing the S1-MME interface and to the S-G) employing the S1-Uinterface. The S1 interface may support a many-to-many relation betweenMMEs/Serving Gateways and base stations. A base station may include manysectors for example: 1, 2, 3, 4, or 6 sectors. A base station mayinclude many cells, for example, ranging from 1 to 50 cells or more. Acell may be categorized, for example, as a primary cell or secondarycell. At RRC connection establishment/re-establishment/handover, oneserving cell may provide the NAS (non-access stratum) mobilityinformation (e.g. TAI), and at RRC connection re-establishment/handover,one serving cell may provide the security input. This cell may bereferred to as the Primary Cell (PCell). In the downlink, the carriercorresponding to the PCell may be the Downlink Primary Component Carrier(DL PCC), while in the uplink, it may be the Uplink Primary ComponentCarrier (UL PCC). Depending on wireless device capabilities, SecondaryCells (SCells) may be configured to form together with the PCell a setof serving cells. In the downlink, the carrier corresponding to an SCellmay be a Downlink Secondary Component Carrier (DL SCC), while in theuplink, it may be an Uplink Secondary Component Carrier (UL SCC). AnSCell may or may not have an uplink carrier.

A cell, comprising a downlink carrier and optionally an uplink carrier,may be assigned a physical cell ID and a cell index. A carrier (downlinkor uplink) may belong to only one cell. The cell ID or Cell index mayalso identify the downlink carrier or uplink carrier of the cell(depending on the context it is used). In the specification, cell ID maybe equally referred to a carrier ID, and cell index may be referred tocarrier index. In implementation, the physical cell ID or cell index maybe assigned to a cell. A cell ID may be determined using asynchronization signal transmitted on a downlink carrier. A cell indexmay be determined using RRC messages. For example, when thespecification refers to a first physical cell ID for a first downlinkcarrier, the specification may mean the first physical cell ID is for acell comprising the first downlink carrier. The same concept may applyto, for example, carrier activation. When the specification indicatesthat a first carrier is activated, the specification may equally meanthat the cell comprising the first carrier is activated.

Embodiments may be configured to operate as needed. The disclosedmechanism may be performed when certain criteria are met, for example,in a wireless device, a base station, a radio environment, a network, acombination of the above, and/or the like. Example criteria may bebased, at least in part, on for example, traffic load, initial systemset up, packet sizes, traffic characteristics, a combination of theabove, and/or the like. When the one or more criteria are met, variousexample embodiments may be applied. Therefore, it may be possible toimplement example embodiments that selectively implement disclosedprotocols.

A base station may communicate with a mix of wireless devices. Wirelessdevices may support multiple technologies, and/or multiple releases ofthe same technology. Wireless devices may have some specificcapability(ies) depending on its wireless device category and/orcapability(ies). A base station may comprise multiple sectors. When thisdisclosure refers to a base station communicating with a plurality ofwireless devices, this disclosure may refer to a subset of the totalwireless devices in a coverage area. This disclosure may refer to, forexample, a plurality of wireless devices of a given LTE release with agiven capability and in a given sector of the base station. Theplurality of wireless devices in this disclosure may refer to a selectedplurality of wireless devices, and/or a subset of total wireless devicesin a coverage area which perform according to disclosed methods, and/orthe like. There may be a plurality of wireless devices in a coveragearea that may not comply with the disclosed methods, for example,because those wireless devices perform based on older releases of LTEtechnology.

FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are example diagrams for protocol structure with CAand DC as per an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention.E-UTRAN may support Dual Connectivity (DC) operation whereby a multipleRX/TX UE in RRC_CONNECTED may be configured to utilize radio resourcesprovided by two schedulers located in two eNBs connected via a non-idealbackhaul over the X2 interface. eNBs involved in DC for a certain UE mayassume two different roles: an eNB may either act as an MeNB or as anSeNB. In DC a UE may be connected to one MeNB and one SeNB. Mechanismsimplemented in DC may be extended to cover more than two eNBs. FIG. 7illustrates one example structure for the UE side MAC entities when aMaster Cell Group (MCG) and a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) are configured,and it may not restrict implementation. Media Broadcast MulticastService (MBMS) reception is not shown in this figure for simplicity.

In DC, the radio protocol architecture that a particular bearer uses maydepend on how the bearer is setup. Three alternatives may exist, an MCGbearer, an SCG bearer and a split bearer as shown in FIG. 6. RRC may belocated in MeNB and SRBs may be configured as a MCG bearer type and mayuse the radio resources of the MeNB. DC may also be described as havingat least one bearer configured to use radio resources provided by theSeNB. DC may or may not be configured/implemented in example embodimentsof the invention.

In the case of DC, the UE may be configured with two MAC entities: oneMAC entity for MeNB, and one MAC entity for SeNB. In DC, the configuredset of serving cells for a UE may comprise of two subsets: the MasterCell Group (MCG) containing the serving cells of the MeNB, and theSecondary Cell Group (SCG) containing the serving cells of the SeNB. Fora SCG, one or more of the following may be applied: at least one cell inthe SCG has a configured UL CC and one of them, named PSCell (or PCellof SCG, or sometimes called PCell), is configured with PUCCH resources;when the SCG is configured, there may be at least one SCG bearer or oneSplit bearer; upon detection of a physical layer problem or a randomaccess problem on a PSCell, or the maximum number of RLC retransmissionshas been reached associated with the SCG, or upon detection of an accessproblem on a PSCell during a SCG addition or a SCG change: a RRCconnection re-establishment procedure may not be triggered, ULtransmissions towards cells of the SCG are stopped, a MeNB may beinformed by the UE of a SCG failure type, for split bearer, the DL datatransfer over the MeNB is maintained; the RLC AM bearer may beconfigured for the split bearer; like PCell, PSCell may not bede-activated; PSCell may be changed with a SCG change (e.g. withsecurity key change and a RACH procedure); and/or neither a directbearer type change between a Split bearer and a SCG bearer norsimultaneous configuration of a SCG and a Split bearer are supported.

With respect to the interaction between a MeNB and a SeNB, one or moreof the following principles may be applied: the MeNB may maintain theRRM measurement configuration of the UE and may, (e.g., based onreceived measurement reports or traffic conditions or bearer types),decide to ask a SeNB to provide additional resources (serving cells) fora UE; upon receiving a request from the MeNB, a SeNB may create acontainer that may result in the configuration of additional servingcells for the UE (or decide that it has no resource available to do so);for UE capability coordination, the MeNB may provide (part of) the ASconfiguration and the UE capabilities to the SeNB; the MeNB and the SeNBmay exchange information about a UE configuration by employing of RRCcontainers (inter-node messages) carried in X2 messages; the SeNB mayinitiate a reconfiguration of its existing serving cells (e.g., PUCCHtowards the SeNB); the SeNB may decide which cell is the PSCell withinthe SCG; the MeNB may not change the content of the RRC configurationprovided by the SeNB; in the case of a SCG addition and a SCG SCelladdition, the MeNB may provide the latest measurement results for theSCG cell(s); both a MeNB and a SeNB may know the SFN and subframe offsetof each other by OAM, (e.g., for the purpose of DRX alignment andidentification of a measurement gap). In an example, when adding a newSCG SCell, dedicated RRC signalling may be used for sending requiredsystem information of the cell as for CA, except for the SFN acquiredfrom a MIB of the PSCell of a SCG.

According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, serving cellshaving an uplink to which the same time alignment (TA) applies may begrouped in a TA group (TAG). Serving cells in one TAG may use the sametiming reference. For a given TAG, user equipment (UE) may use onedownlink carrier as a timing reference at a given time. The UE may use adownlink carrier in a TAG as a timing reference for that TAG. For agiven TAG, a UE may synchronize uplink subframe and frame transmissiontiming of uplink carriers belonging to the same TAG. According to someof the various aspects of embodiments, serving cells having an uplink towhich the same TA applies may correspond to serving cells hosted by thesame receiver. A TA group may comprise at least one serving cell with aconfigured uplink. A UE supporting multiple TAs may support two or moreTA groups. One TA group may contain the PCell and may be called aprimary TAG (pTAG). In a multiple TAG configuration, at least one TAgroup may not contain the PCell and may be called a secondary TAG(sTAG). Carriers within the same TA group may use the same TA value andthe same timing reference. When DC is configured, cells belonging to acell group (MCG or SCG) may be grouped into multiple TAGs including apTAG and one or more sTAGs.

FIG. 8 shows example TAG configurations as per an aspect of anembodiment of the present invention. In Example 1, pTAG comprises PCell,and an sTAG comprises SCell1. In Example 2, a pTAG comprises a PCell andSCell1, and an sTAG comprises SCell2 and SCell3. In Example 3, pTAGcomprises PCell and SCell1, and an sTAG1 includes SCell2 and SCell3, andsTAG2 comprises SCell4. Up to four TAGs may be supported in a cell group(MCG or SCG) and other example TAG configurations may also be provided.In various examples in this disclosure, example mechanisms are describedfor a pTAG and an sTAG. The operation with one example sTAG isdescribed, and the same operation may be applicable to other sTAGs. Theexample mechanisms may be applied to configurations with multiple sTAGs.

According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, TA maintenance,pathloss reference handling and a timing reference for a pTAG may followLTE release 10 principles in the MCG and/or SCG. The UE may need tomeasure downlink pathloss to calculate uplink transmit power. A pathlossreference may be used for uplink power control and/or transmission ofrandom access preamble(s). UE may measure downlink pathloss usingsignals received on a pathloss reference cell. For SCell(s) in a pTAG,the choice of a pathloss reference for cells may be selected from and/orbe limited to the following two options: a) the downlink SCell linked toan uplink SCell using system information block 2 (SIB2), and b) thedownlink pCell. The pathloss reference for SCells in a pTAG may beconfigurable using RRC message(s) as a part of an SCell initialconfiguration and/or reconfiguration. According to some of the variousaspects of embodiments, a PhysicalConfigDedicatedSCell informationelement (IE) of an SCell configuration may include a pathloss referenceSCell (downlink carrier) for an SCell in a pTAG. The downlink SCelllinked to an uplink SCell using system information block 2 (SIB2) may bereferred to as the SIB2 linked downlink of the SCell. Different TAGs mayoperate in different bands. For an uplink carrier in an sTAG, thepathloss reference may be only configurable to the downlink SCell linkedto an uplink SCell using the system information block 2 (SIB2) of theSCell.

To obtain initial uplink (UL) time alignment for an sTAG, an eNB mayinitiate an RA procedure. In an sTAG, a UE may use one of any activatedSCells from this sTAG as a timing reference cell. In an exampleembodiment, the timing reference for SCells in an sTAG may be the SIB2linked downlink of the SCell on which the preamble for the latest RAprocedure was sent. There may be one timing reference and one timealignment timer (TAT) per TA group. A TAT for TAGs may be configuredwith different values. In a MAC entity, when a TAT associated with apTAG expires: all TATs may be considered as expired, the UE may flushHARQ buffers of serving cells, the UE may clear any configured downlinkassignment/uplink grants, and the RRC in the UE may release PUCCH/SRSfor all configured serving cells. When the pTAG TAT is not running, ansTAG TAT may not be running. When the TAT associated with an sTAGexpires: a) SRS transmissions may be stopped on the correspondingSCells, b) SRS RRC configuration may be released, c) CSI reportingconfiguration for corresponding SCells may be maintained, and/or d) theMAC in the UE may flush the uplink HARQ buffers of the correspondingSCells.

An eNB may initiate an RA procedure via a PDCCH order for an activatedSCell. This PDCCH order may be sent on a scheduling cell of this SCell.When cross carrier scheduling is configured for a cell, the schedulingcell may be different than the cell that is employed for preambletransmission, and the PDCCH order may include an SCell index. At least anon-contention based RA procedure may be supported for SCell(s) assignedto sTAG(s).

FIG. 9 is an example message flow in a random access process in asecondary TAG as per an aspect of an embodiment of the presentinvention. An eNB transmits an activation command 600 to activate anSCell. A preamble 602 (Msg1) may be sent by a UE in response to a PDCCHorder 601 on an SCell belonging to an sTAG. In an example embodiment,preamble transmission for SCells may be controlled by the network usingPDCCH format 1A. Msg2 message 603 (RAR: random access response) inresponse to the preamble transmission on the SCell may be addressed toRA-RNTI in a PCell common search space (CSS). Uplink packets 604 may betransmitted on the SCell in which the preamble was transmitted.

According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, initial timingalignment may be achieved through a random access procedure. This mayinvolve a UE transmitting a random access preamble and an eNB respondingwith an initial TA command NTA (amount of timing advance) within arandom access response window. The start of the random access preamblemay be aligned with the start of a corresponding uplink subframe at theUE assuming NTA=0. The eNB may estimate the uplink timing from therandom access preamble transmitted by the UE. The TA command may bederived by the eNB based on the estimation of the difference between thedesired UL timing and the actual UL timing. The UE may determine theinitial uplink transmission timing relative to the correspondingdownlink of the sTAG on which the preamble is transmitted.

The mapping of a serving cell to a TAG may be configured by a servingeNB with RRC signaling. The mechanism for TAG configuration andreconfiguration may be based on RRC signaling. According to some of thevarious aspects of embodiments, when an eNB performs an SCell additionconfiguration, the related TAG configuration may be configured for theSCell. In an example embodiment, an eNB may modify the TAG configurationof an SCell by removing (releasing) the SCell and adding (configuring) anew SCell (with the same physical cell ID and frequency) with an updatedTAG ID. The new SCell with the updated TAG ID may initially be inactivesubsequent to being assigned the updated TAG ID. The eNB may activatethe updated new SCell and start scheduling packets on the activatedSCell. In an example implementation, it may not be possible to changethe TAG associated with an SCell, but rather, the SCell may need to beremoved and a new SCell may need to be added with another TAG. Forexample, if there is a need to move an SCell from an sTAG to a pTAG, atleast one RRC message, for example, at least one RRC reconfigurationmessage, may be send to the UE to reconfigure TAG configurations byreleasing the SCell and then configuring the SCell as a part of the pTAG(when an SCell is added/configured without a TAG index, the SCell may beexplicitly assigned to the pTAG). The PCell may not change its TA groupand may always be a member of the pTAG.

The purpose of an RRC connection reconfiguration procedure may be tomodify an RRC connection, (e.g. to establish, modify and/or release RBs,to perform handover, to setup, modify, and/or release measurements, toadd, modify, and/or release SCells). If the received RRC ConnectionReconfiguration message includes the sCellToReleaseList, the UE mayperform an SCell release. If the received RRC Connection Reconfigurationmessage includes the sCellToAddModList, the UE may perform SCelladditions or modification.

In LTE Release-10 and Release-11 CA, a PUCCH is only transmitted on thePCell (PSCell) to an eNB. In LTE-Release 12 and earlier, a UE maytransmit PUCCH information on one cell (PCell or PSCell) to a given eNB.

As the number of CA capable UEs and also the number of aggregatedcarriers increase, the number of PUCCHs and also the PUCCH payload sizemay increase. Accommodating the PUCCH transmissions on the PCell maylead to a high PUCCH load on the PCell. A PUCCH on an SCell may beintroduced to offload the PUCCH resource from the PCell. More than onePUCCH may be configured for example, a PUCCH on a PCell and anotherPUCCH on an SCell. FIG. 10 is an example grouping of cells into PUCCHgroups as per an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention. Inthe example embodiments, one, two or more cells may be configured withPUCCH resources for transmitting CSI/ACK/NACK to a base station. Cellsmay be grouped into multiple PUCCH groups, and one or more cell within agroup may be configured with a PUCCH. In an example configuration, oneSCell may belong to one PUCCH group. SCells with a configured PUCCHtransmitted to a base station may be called a PUCCH SCell, and a cellgroup with a common PUCCH resource transmitted to the same base stationmay be called a PUCCH group.

In Release-12, a PUCCH can be configured on a PCell and/or a PSCell, butcannot be configured on other SCells. In an example embodiment, a UE maytransmit a message indicating that the UE supports PUCCH configurationon a PCell and SCell. Such an indication may be separate from anindication of dual connectivity support by the UE. In an exampleembodiment, a UE may support both DC and PUCCH groups. In an exampleembodiment, either DC or PUCCH groups may be configured, but not both.In another example embodiment, more complicated configurationscomprising both DC and PUCCH groups may be supported.

When a UE is capable of configuring PUCCH groups, and if a UE indicatesthat it supports simultaneous PUCCH/PUSCH transmission capability, itmay imply that the UE supports simultaneous PUCCH/PUSCH transmission onboth PCell and SCell. When multiple PUCCH groups are configured, a PUCCHmay be configured or not configured with simultaneous PUCCH/PUSCHtransmission.

In an example embodiment, PUCCH transmission to a base station on twoserving cells may be realized as shown in FIG. 10. A first group ofcells may employ a PUCCH on the PCell and may be called PUCCH group 1 ora primary PUCCH group. A second group of cells may employ a PUCCH on anSCell and may be called PUCCH group 2 or a secondary PUCCH group. One,two or more PUCCH groups may be configured. In an example, cells may begrouped into two PUCCH groups, and each PUCCH group may include a cellwith PUCCH resources. A PCell may provide PUCCH resources for theprimary PUCCH group and an SCell in the secondary PUCCH group mayprovide PUCCH resources for the cells in the secondary PUCCH group. Inan example embodiment, no cross-carrier scheduling between cells indifferent PUCCH groups may be configured. When cross-carrier schedulingbetween cells in different PUCCH groups is not configured, ACK/NACK onPHICH channel may be limited within a PUCCH group. Both downlink anduplink scheduling activity may be separate between cells belonging todifferent PUCCH groups.

A PUCCH on an SCell may carry HARQ-ACK and CSI information. A PCell maybe configured with PUCCH resources. In an example embodiment, RRCparameters for an SCell PUCCH Power Control for a PUCCH on an SCell maybe different from those of a PCell PUCCH. A Transmit Power Controlcommand for a PUCCH on an SCell may be transmitted in DCI(s) on theSCell carrying the PUCCH.

UE procedures on a PUCCH transmission may be different and/orindependent between PUCCH groups. For example, determination of DLHARQ-ACK timing, PUCCH resource determination for HARQ-ACK and/or CSI,Higher-layer configuration of simultaneous HARQ-ACK+CSI on a PUCCH,Higher-layer configuration of simultaneous HARQ-ACK+SRS in one subframemay be configured differently for a PUCCH PCell and a PUCCH SCell.

A PUCCH group may be a group of serving cells configured by a RRC anduse the same serving cell in the group for transmission of a PUCCH. APrimary PUCCH group may be a PUCCH group containing a PCell. A secondaryPUCCH group may be a PUCCH cell group not containing the PCell. In anexample embodiment, an SCell may belong to one PUCCH group. When oneSCell belongs to a PUCCH group, ACK/NACK or CSI for that SCell may betransmitted over the PUCCH in that PUCCH group (over PUCCH SCell orPUCCH PCell). A PUCCH on an SCell may reduce the PUCCH load on thePCell. A PUCCH SCell may be employed for UCI transmission of SCells inthe corresponding PUCCH group.

In an example embodiment, a flexible PUCCH configuration in whichcontrol signalling is sent on one, two or more PUCCHs may be possible.Beside the PCell, it may be possible to configure a selected number ofSCells for PUCCH transmission (herein called PUCCH SCells). Controlsignalling information conveyed in a certain PUCCH SCell may be relatedto a set of SCells in a corresponding PUCCH group that are configured bythe network via RRC signalling.

PUCCH control signalling carried by a PUCCH channel may be distributedbetween a PCell and SCells for off-loading or robustness purposes. Byenabling a PUCCH in an SCell, it may be possible to distribute theoverall CSI reports for a given UE between a PCell and a selected numberof SCells (e.g. PUCCH SCells), thereby limiting PUCCH CSI resourceconsumption by a given UE on a certain cell. It may be possible to mapCSI reports for a certain SCell to a selected PUCCH SCell. An SCell maybe assigned a certain periodicity and time-offset for transmission ofcontrol information. Periodic CSI for a serving cell may be mapped on aPUCCH (on the PCell or on a PUCCH-SCell) via RRC signalling. Thepossibility of distributing CSI reports, HARQ feedbacks, and/orScheduling Requests across PUCCH SCells may provide flexibility andcapacity improvements. HARQ feedback for a serving cell may be mapped ona PUCCH (on the PCell or on a PUCCH SCell) via RRC signalling.

In example embodiments, PUCCH transmission may be configured on a PCell,as well as one SCell in CA. An SCell PUCCH may be realized using theconcept of PUCCH groups, where aggregated cells are grouped into two ormore PUCCH groups. One cell from a PUCCH group may be configured tocarry a PUCCH. More than 5 carriers may be configured. In the exampleembodiments, up to n carriers may be aggregated. For example, n may be16, 32, or 64. Some CCs may have non-backward compatible configurationssupporting only advanced UEs (e.g. support licensed assisted accessSCells). In an example embodiment, one SCell PUCCH (e.g. two PUCCHgroups) may be supported. In another example embodiment, a PUCCH groupconcept with multiple (more than one) SCells carrying PUCCH may beemployed (e.g., there can be more than two PUCCH groups).

In an example embodiment, a given PUCCH group may not comprise servingcells of both MCG and SCG. One of the PUCCHs may be configured on thePCell. In an example embodiment, PUCCH mapping of serving cells may beconfigured by RRC messages. In an example embodiment, a maximum value ofan SCellIndex and a ServCellIndex may be 31 (ranging from 0 to 31). Inan example, a maximum value of stag-Id may be 3. The CIF for a scheduledcell may be configured explicitly. A PUCCH SCell may be configured bygiving a PUCCH configuration for an SCell. A HARQ feedback and CSIreport of a PUCCH SCell may be sent on the PUCCH of that PUCCH SCell.The HARQ feedback and CSI report of a SCell may sent on a PUCCH of aPCell if no PUCCH SCell is signalled for that SCell. The HARQ feedbackand CSI report of an SCell may be sent on the PUCCH of one PUCCH SCell;hence they may not be sent on the PUCCH of different PUCCH SCell. The UEmay report a Type 2 PH for serving cells configured with a PUCCH. In anexample embodiment, a MAC activation/deactivation may be supported for aPUCCH SCell. An eNB may manage the activation/deactivation status forSCells. A newly added PUCCH SCell may be initially deactivated.

In an example embodiment, independent configuration of PUCCH groups andTAGs may be supported. FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 show example configurationsof TAGs and PUCCH groups. For example, one TAG may contain multipleserving cells with a PUCCH. For example, each TAG may only comprisecells of one PUCCH group. For example, a TAG may comprise the servingcells (without a PUCCH) which belong to different PUCCH groups.

There may not be a one-to-one mapping between TAGs and PUCCH groups. Forexample, in a configuration, a PUCCH SCell may belong to primary TAG. Inan example implementation, the serving cells of one PUCCH group may bein different TAGs and serving cells of one TAG may be in different PUCCHgroups. Configuration of PUCCH groups and TAGs may be left to eNBimplementation. In another example implementation, restriction(s) on theconfiguration of a PUCCH cell may be specified. For example, in anexample embodiment, cells in a given PUCCH group may belong to the sameTAG. In an example, an sTAG may only comprise cells of one PUCCH group.In an example, one-to-one mapping between TAGs and PUCCH groups may beimplemented. In implementation, cell configurations may be limited tosome of the examples. In other implementations, some or all the belowconfigurations may be allowed.

In an example embodiment, for an SCell in a pTAG, the timing referencemay be a PCell. For an SCell in an sTAG, the timing reference may be anyactivated SCell in the sTAG. For an SCell (configured with PUCCH or not)in a pTAG, a pathloss reference may be configured to be a PCell or anSIB-2 linked SCell. For an SCell in a sTAG, the pathloss reference maybe the SIB-2 linked SCell. When a TAT associated with a pTAG is expired,the TAT associated with sTAGs may be considered as expired. When a TATof an sTAG containing PUCCH SCell expires, the MAC may indicate to anRRC to release PUCCH resource for the PUCCH group. When the TAT of ansTAG containing a PUCCH SCell is not running, the uplink transmission(PUSCH) for SCells in the secondary PUCCH group not belonging to thesTAG including the PUCCH SCell may not be impacted. The TAT expiry of ansTAG containing a PUCCH SCell may not trigger TAT expiry of other TAGsto which other SCells in the same PUCCH group belong. When the TATassociated with sTAG not containing a PUCCH SCell is not running, thewireless device may stop the uplink transmission for the SCell in thesTAG and may not impact other TAGs.

In an example embodiment, a MAC entity may have a configurable timertimeAlignmentTimer per TAG. The timeAlignmentTimer may be used tocontrol how long the MAC entity considers the Serving Cells belonging tothe associated TAG to be uplink time aligned. The MAC entity may, when aTiming Advance Command MAC control element is received, apply the TimingAdvance Command for the indicated TAG; start or restart thetimeAlignmentTimer associated with the indicated TAG. The MAC entitymay, when a Timing Advance Command is received in a Random AccessResponse message for a serving cell belonging to a TAG and/or if theRandom Access Preamble was not selected by the MAC entity, apply theTiming Advance Command for this TAG and start or restart thetimeAlignmentTimer associated with this TAG. Otherwise, if thetimeAlignmentTimer associated with this TAG is not running, the TimingAdvance Command for this TAG may be applied and the timeAlignmentTimerassociated with this TAG started. When the contention resolution isconsidered not successful, a timeAlignmentTimer associated with this TAGmay be stopped. Otherwise, the MAC entity may ignore the received TimingAdvance Command.

Example embodiments of the invention may enable operation of multiplePUCCH groups. Other example embodiments may comprise a non-transitorytangible computer readable media comprising instructions executable byone or more processors to cause operation of PUCCH groups. Yet otherexample embodiments may comprise an article of manufacture thatcomprises a non-transitory tangible computer readable machine-accessiblemedium having instructions encoded thereon for enabling programmablehardware to cause a device (e.g. wireless communicator, UE, basestation, etc.) to enable operation of PUCCH groups. The device mayinclude processors, memory, interfaces, and/or the like. Other exampleembodiments may comprise communication networks comprising devices suchas base stations, wireless devices (or user equipment: UE), servers,switches, antennas, and/or the like. In an example embodiment one ormore TAGs may be configured along with PUCCH group configuration.

FIG. 13 is an example MAC PDU as per an aspect of an embodiment of thepresent invention. In an example embodiment, a MAC PDU may comprise of aMAC header, zero or more MAC Service Data Units (MAC SDU), zero or moreMAC control elements, and optionally padding. The MAC header and the MACSDUs may be of variable sizes. A MAC PDU header may comprise one or moreMAC PDU subheaders. A subheader may correspond to either a MAC SDU, aMAC control element or padding. A MAC PDU subheader may comprise headerfields R, F2, E, LCID, F, and/or L. The last subheader in the MAC PDUand subheaders for fixed sized MAC control elements may comprise thefour header fields R, F2, E, and/or LCID. A MAC PDU subheadercorresponding to padding may comprise the four header fields R, F2, E,and/or LCID.

In an example embodiment, LCID or Logical Channel ID field may identifythe logical channel instance of the corresponding MAC SDU or the type ofthe corresponding MAC control element or padding. There may be one LCIDfield for a MAC SDU, MAC control element or padding included in the MACPDU. In addition to that, one or two additional LCID fields may beincluded in the MAC PDU when single-byte or two-byte padding is requiredbut cannot be achieved by padding at the end of the MAC PDU. The LCIDfield size may be, e.g. 5 bits. L or the Length field may indicate thelength of the corresponding MAC SDU or variable-sized MAC controlelement in bytes. There may be one L field per MAC PDU subheader exceptfor the last subheader and subheaders corresponding to fixed-sized MACcontrol elements. The size of the L field may be indicated by the Ffield and F2 field. The F or the Format field may indicate the size ofthe Length field. There may be one F field per MAC PDU subheader exceptfor the last subheader and subheaders corresponding to fixed-sized MACcontrol elements and expect for when F2 is set to 1. The size of the Ffield may be 1 bit. In an example, if the F field is included, and/or ifthe size of the MAC SDU or variable-sized MAC control element is lessthan 128 bytes, the value of the F field is set to 0, otherwise it isset to 1. The F2 or the Format2 field may indicate the size of theLength field. There may be one F2 field per MAC PDU subheader. The sizeof the F2 field may be 1 bit. In an example, if the size of the MAC SDUor variable-sized MAC control element is larger than 32767 bytes and ifthe corresponding subheader is not the last subheader, the value of theF2 field may be set to 1, otherwise it is set to 0. The E or theExtension field may be a flag indicating if more fields are present inthe MAC header or not. The E field may be set to “1” to indicate anotherset of at least R/F2/E/LCID fields. The E field may be set to “0” toindicate that either a MAC SDU, a MAC control element or padding startsat the next byte. R or reserved bit, set to “0”.

MAC PDU subheaders may have the same order as the corresponding MACSDUs, MAC control elements and padding. MAC control elements may beplaced before any MAC SDU. Padding may occur at the end of the MAC PDU,except when single-byte or two-byte padding is required. Padding mayhave any value and the MAC entity may ignore it. When padding isperformed at the end of the MAC PDU, zero or more padding bytes may beallowed. When single-byte or two-byte padding is required, one or twoMAC PDU subheaders corresponding to padding may be placed at thebeginning of the MAC PDU before any other MAC PDU subheader. In anexample, a maximum of one MAC PDU may be transmitted per TB per MACentity, a maximum of one MCH MAC PDU can be transmitted per TTI.

At least one RRC message may provide configuration parameters for atleast one cell and configuration parameters for PUCCH groups. Theinformation elements in one or more RRC messages may provide mappingbetween configured cells and PUCCH SCells. Cells may be grouped into aplurality of cell groups and a cell may be assigned to one of theconfigured PUCCH groups. There may be a one-to-one relationship betweenPUCCH groups and cells with configured PUCCH resources. At least one RRCmessage may provide mapping between an SCell and a PUCCH group, andPUCCH configuration on PUCCH SCell.

System information (common parameters) for an SCell may be carried in aRadioResourceConfigCommonSCell in a dedicated RRC message. Some of thePUCCH related information may be included in common information of anSCell (e.g. in the RadioResourceConfigCommonSCell). Dedicatedconfiguration parameters of SCell and PUCCH resources may be configuredby dedicated RRC signaling using, for example,RadioResourceConfigDedicatedSCell.

The IE PUCCH-ConfigCommon and IE PUCCH-ConfigDedicated may be used tospecify the common and the UE specific PUCCH configuration respectively.

In an example, PUCCH-ConfigCommon may include: deltaPUCCH-Shift:ENUMERATED {ds1, ds2, ds3}; nRB-CQI: INTEGER (0 . . . 98); nCS-AN:INTEGER (0 . . . 7); and/or n1PUCCH-AN: INTEGER (0 . . . 2047). Theparameter deltaPUCCH-Shift (Δ_(shift) ^(PUCCH)), nRB-CQI (N_(RB) ⁽²⁾),nCS-An (N_(cs) ⁽¹⁾), and n1PUCCH-AN (N_(PUCCH) ⁽¹⁾) may be physicallayer parameters of PUCCH.

PUCCH-ConfigDedicated may be employed. PUCCH-ConfigDedicated mayinclude: ackNackRepetition CHOICE{release: NULL, setup: SEQUENCE{repetitionFactor: ENUMERATED {n2, n4, n6, sparel}, n1PUCCH-AN-Rep:INTEGER (0 . . . 2047)}}, tdd-AckNackFeedbackMode: ENUMERATED {bundling,multiplexing} OPTIONAL}. ackNackRepetitionj parameter indicates whetherACK/NACK repetition is configured. n2 corresponds to repetition factor2, n4 to 4 for repetitionFactor parameter (N_(ANRep)). n1PUCCH-AN-Repparameter may be n_(PUCCH, ANRep) ^((1,p)) for antenna port P0 and forantenna port P1. dd-AckNackFeedbackMode AckNackFeedbackMode parametermay indicate one of the TDD ACK/NACK feedback modes used. The valuebundling may correspond to use of ACK/NACK bundling whereas, the valuemultiplexing may correspond to ACK/NACK multiplexing. The same value mayapply to both ACK/NACK feedback modes on PUCCH as well as on PUSCH.

The parameter PUCCH-ConfigDedicated may include simultaneous PUCCH-PUSCHparameter indicating whether simultaneous PUCCH and PUSCH transmissionsis configured. An E-UTRAN may configure this field for the PCell whenthe nonContiguousUL-RA-WithinCC-Info is set to supported in the band onwhich PCell is configured. The E-UTRAN may configure this field for thePSCell when the nonContiguousUL-RA-WithinCC-Info is set to supported inthe band on which PSCell is configured. The E-UTRAN may configure thisfield for the PUCCH SCell when the nonContiguousUL-RA-WithinCC-Info isset to supported in the band on which PUCCH SCell is configured.

A UE may transmit radio capabilities to an eNB to indicate whether UEsupport the configuration of PUCCH groups. The simultaneous PUCCH-PUSCHin the UE capability message may be applied to both a PCell and anSCell. Simultaneous PUCCH+PUSCH may be configured separately (usingseparate IEs) for a PCell and a PUCCH SCell. For example, a PCell and aPUCCH SCell may have different or the same configurations related tosimultaneous PUCCH+PUSCH.

The eNB may select the PUCCH SCell among current SCells or candidateSCells considering cell loading, carrier quality (e.g. using measurementreports), carrier configuration, and/or other parameters. From afunctionality perspective, a PUCCH Cell group management procedure mayinclude a PUCCH Cell group addition, a PUCCH cell group release, a PUCCHcell group change and/or a PUCCH cell group reconfiguration. The PUCCHcell group addition procedure may be used to add a secondary PUCCH cellgroup (e.g., to add PUCCH SCell and one or more SCells in the secondaryPUCCH cell group). In an example embodiment, cells may be released andadded employing one or more RRC messages. In another example embodiment,cells may be released employing a first RRC message and then addedemploying a second RRC messages.

SCells including PUCCH SCell may be in a deactivated state when they areconfigured. A PUCCH SCell may be activated after an RRC configurationprocedure by an activation MAC CE. An eNB may transmit a MAC CEactivation command to a UE. The UE may activate an SCell in response toreceiving the MAC CE activation command.

In example embodiments, a timer is running once it is started, until itis stopped or until it expires; otherwise it may not be running A timercan be started if it is not running or restarted if it is running. Forexample, a timer may be started or restarted from its initial value.

In an example embodiment of the invention, if the MAC entity isconfigured with one or more SCells, the network may activate anddeactivate the configured SCells. The SpCell may always be activatedwhen it is configured. The network may activate and deactivate theSCell(s) by sending the Activation/Deactivation MAC control element.Furthermore, the MAC entity may maintain a sCellDeactivationTimer timerfor a configured SCell. The same initial timer value applies to aninstance of the sCellDeactivationTimer and it is configured by RRC. Theconfigured SCells may be initially deactivated upon addition and after ahandover.

The MAC entity may for a TTI and for a configured SCell: if the MACentity receives an Activation/Deactivation MAC control element in thisTTI activating the SCell, the MAC entity may in the TTI according to apre-defined timing perform one or more of the following: activate theSCell; e.g. apply normal SCell operation, Normal SCell operation mayinclude: SRS transmissions on the SCell; CQI/PMI/RI/PTI reporting forthe SCell; PDCCH monitoring on the SCell; PDCCH monitoring for theSCell; PUCCH transmissions on the SCell, if configured. When UE receivesan activation MAC C/E, the UE may start or restart thesCellDeactivationTimer associated with the SCell. When UE receives anactivation MAC C/E, the UE may trigger PHR.

In an example embodiment, the following processes may be implemented inthe UE and/or eNB when an SCell (e.g. PUCCH SCell or other SCells in aPUCCH cell group) is deactivated. Signals are applied to the process ifthey are configured. Other similar processes may be developed to achievesubstantially the same outcome. If an SCell is deactivated, a UE may nottransmit SRS on the SCell; may not report CQI/PMI/RI/PTI for the SCell;may not transmit on UL-SCH on the SCell; may not transmit on RACH on theSCell; may not monitor the PDCCH on the SCell; and/or may not monitorthe PDCCH for the SCell. HARQ feedback for the MAC PDU containingActivation/Deactivation MAC control element may not be impacted by PCellinterruption due to SCell activation/deactivation. When an SCell isdeactivated, an ongoing Random Access procedure on the SCell, if any,may be aborted.

FIG. 14A is an example activation/deactivation MAC CE as per an aspectof an example embodiment. FIG. 14A shows a MAC activation/deactivationCE when up to 7 SCells with SCellIndex between 1 to 7 are configured.The MAC activation/deactivation CE in FIG. 14A may activate ordeactivate up to 7 SCells, and when SCellIndex is a number between 1 to7.

The Activation/Deactivation MAC control element in FIG. 14A may beidentified by a MAC PDU subheader with a pre-defined LCID. The MAC CEhas a fixed size and comprises of a single octet containing sevenC-fields and one R-field. The Activation/Deactivation MAC controlelement may be defined as follows. Ci: if there is an SCell configuredwith SCellIndex this field may indicate the activation/deactivationstatus of the SCell with SCellIndex i, else the MAC entity may ignorethe Ci field. The Ci field is set to “1” to indicate that the SCell withSCellIndex i should be activated. The Ci field is set to “0” to indicatethat the SCell with SCellIndex i should be deactivated. R: Reserved bit,set to “0”. As shown in the FIG. 14A, the MAC activation/deactivation CEmay activate or deactivate up to 7 SCells, and SCellIndex is a numberbetween 1 to 7.

New LCID(s) for Activation/Deactivation MAC CE may need to be defined toenable activation/deactivation of a higher number of cells, for examplewhen up to 31 SCells (when up to 32 cells including one PCell and up to31 SCells are configured). In an example embodiment, a four OctetActivation/Deactivation MAC CE with a new LCID is defined. The new A/DMAC CE may be assigned a new LCID different from the LCID for the oneoctet A/D MAC CE.

Example embodiments, may enable a new MAC CE command with a fixed sizeof 4 octets. This may enable using MAC subheaders with fixed length MACCEs, which is one byte. Overall, the disclosed embodiment may enable anefficient MAC CE command format with a reduced overall average commandsize in most cases. The example embodiment of the invention introduces afixed size MAC CE, which is simple to implement and requires a shorterMAC CE subheader. The preferred MAC CE has less flexibility, but itssimplicity and reduced MAC subheader size provides additionaladvantages.

FIG. 15 is an example MAC subheader for a A/D MAC CE. The examplesubheader in the MAC PDU may be employed for fixed sized MAC controlelements. The subheader may comprise an LCID field (e.g. five bits). Thesubheader may include one or more R bits reserved for other or futureuses. The subheader may comprise an E field. In an example, E (Extensionfield) may be a flag indicating if more fields are present in the MACheader or not. The E field may be set to “1” to indicate another set ofat least R/R/E/LCID fields. The E field may be set to “0” to indicatethat either a MAC SDU, a MAC control element or padding starts at thenext byte.

In an example embodiment, a wireless device may receive at least onemessage comprising configuration parameters of one or more secondarycells. The wireless device may receive from an eNB anactivation/deactivation (A/D) media access control (MAC) control element(CE). The wireless device may activate or deactivate at least one cellaccording to the A/D MAC CE. The MAC A/D CE is of a fixed size of oneoctet and is identified by a first subheader with a first logicalchannel identifier (LCID) when up to seven secondary cells and each witha cell index between one to seven is configured. Otherwise, the MAC A/DCE is of a fixed size of four octets and is identified by a secondsubheader with a second LCID different from the first LCID.

FIGS. 16A and 16B show examples of LCID and MAC CE for a one octet A/DMAC CE and a four octet A/D MAC CE. The A/D MAC CE of one octet mayidentified by a MAC PDU subheader with a first LCID (LCID1). A/D MAC CEhas a fixed size of a single octet containing seven C-fields and oneR-field. An example one octet A/D MAC CE is shown in FIG. 16A. The A/DMAC CE of four octets is identified by a MAC PDU subheader with a secondLCID (LCID2) different from a first LCID (LCID1). The A/D MAC CE has afixed size a four octets containing 31 C-fields and one R-field. Anexample is shown in FIG. 16B.

In an example embodiment, for the case with no serving cell with aServCellIndex larger than 7, Activation/Deactivation MAC control elementof one octet is applied. In one Octet MAC CE, if there is an SCellconfigured with SCellIndex i, Ci field indicates theactivation/deactivation status of the SCell with SCellIndex i, else theMAC entity may ignore the Ci field. The Ci field is set to “1” toindicate that the SCell with SCellIndex i shall be activated. The Cifield is set to “0” to indicate that the SCell with SCellIndex i shallbe deactivated; R: Reserved bit, set to “0”.

In an example embodiment, for the case with no serving cell with aServCellIndex larger than 7, Activation/Deactivation MAC control elementof one octet is applied, otherwise Activation/Deactivation MAC controlelement of four octets is applied.

In an example embodiment, if for example, when cells indicated by one ormore of the four Octets in A/D MAC CE are not configured, the one ormore octets corresponding to un-configured cells are still transmitted.A UE, may not take any action regarding the bits that corresponds to acell which is not configured. Cells that are not configured may not beactivated/deactivated. In an example embodiment, if no cell in a givensubgroup is configured, the UE may ignore the bits in the correspondingoctet or the bits in the corresponding octet may be zero. The primarycell is always active, therefore, there is no need to indicate theactivation or deactivation of the PCell in subgroup 0 (R bit in Octet1).

In an example embodiment, for the case with no serving cell with aServCellIndex larger than 7, Activation/Deactivation MAC control elementof one octet is applied. In an example embodiment, when SCellIndex i ofgreater than 7 is configured, the SCells may be grouped into subgroups.SCellIndex of greater than 7 may be indicated by a subgroup number and aCi. Up to four subgroups may be configured and SCellIndex=subgroupnumber*8+Ci. This example embodiment, may reduce an index Ci size to anumber below 8. Activation/Deactivation MAC control element of fouroctets is applied. An octet is applicable to a subgroup. For example,Octet one is applied to the first 7 SCells (ServCellIndex from 1 to 7,and subgroup 0), Octet two is applied to the following 8 SCells(ServCellIndex of 8 to 15, or subgroup 1 & Ci from 0 to 7 in subgroup 1)and Octet three is applied to the following 8 SCells (ServCellIndex of16 to 23, or subgroup 2 & Ci from 0 to 7 in subgroup 2) so on. An Octetin an Activation/Deactivation MAC CE may correspond to a specificpre-defined subgroup. If an SCell is configured, its corresponding Cifield indicates the activation/deactivation status of the SCell, elsethe MAC entity may ignore the Ci field. The Ci field is set to “1” toindicate that the corresponding SCell shall be activated. The Ci fieldis set to “0” to indicate that the corresponding SCell shall bedeactivated; R: Reserved bit, set to “0”.

If there is an SCell configured with CellIndex i in a given subgroup, Cifield may indicate the activation/deactivation status of the SCell withSCellIndex=subgroup number*8+Ci, else the MAC entity may ignore the Cifield. The Ci field is set to “1” to indicate that the correspondingSCell with SCellIndex=subgroup number*8+Ci in the corresponding subgroupshould be activated. The Ci field is set to “0” to indicate that thecorresponding SCell should be deactivated.

The MAC activation/deactivation CE in FIG. 14A may activate ordeactivate up to 7 SCells, and when SCellIndex is a number between 1 to7. For the case with no serving cell with a ServCellIndex larger than 7(e.g. no subgrouping), Activation/Deactivation MAC control element ofone octet is applied. In an example embodiment, when one subgroup isconfigured (e.g. no subgrouping is performed) in a wireless device, thefirst LCID and a one octet A/D MAC CE may be employed foractivation/deactivation of cells.

In an example embodiment, when a cell with SCellIndex of greater than 7is configured, the MAC activation command may have a fixed size of fouroctets (e.g. multiple subgroups are configured). The eNB and UE may usea four octet MAC subheader with a second LCID for fixed MAC CE size.

Example embodiments presents legacy extended PHR MAC CE ((Extended PHR)and enhanced extended PHR MAC CE reports (ExtendedPHR2). FIGS. 17A and18A show example PHR MAC CE presence fields in an example embodiment.FIGS. 17A and 18A show PHR MAC CE presence field when up to 7 SCellswith SCellIndex between 1 to 7 are configured. The PHR MAC CE includes aone-octet presence field. The PHR MAC CE in FIG. 18A may include PHR forup to 7 SCells, and when SCellIndex is a number between 1 to 7. In anexample embodiment, when the number of configured secondary cells isless than seven, the PHR MAC CE with one-octet presence field may beemployed for PHR of cells.

As illustrated in FIGS. 17B and 18B, the presence field are of a fixedsize of four octets when the UE is configured with more than sevensecondary cells with a configured uplink. In LTE-A and beyond, an eNBmay configure a UE with more than seven SCells, each having a configureduplink. A four-octet presence field may be included in the PHR MAC CE asillustrated in FIGS. 17B and 18B.

PHR MAC CE may include either a one-octet presence field or a four-octetpresence field depending on RRC configuration of the secondary cellsconfigured in a UE. The example embodiments of the invention introducestwo alternative fixed size MAC CE presence field depending on a UE RRCconfiguration. This mechanism may simplify the UE and/or eNBimplementation. The MAC CE format/size has less flexibility, but itssimplicity provides additional advantages.

The PHR MAC CEs in FIGS. 17 and 18 may be identified by a MAC PDUsubheader with a pre-defined LCID. FIG. 19 is an example subheader for aPHR MAC CE. The subheader may include a pre-defined LCID field toidentify PHR MAC CE. The subheader may also include a length field toindicate the length of the PHR MAC CE. The PHR MAC CE has a variablesize depending on the number cells with PHR fields and the type of PHRfields for each cell.

The PHR MAC CE in FIGS. 17A and 18A include presence field with a fixedsize. The presence field comprise of a single octet containing sevenC-fields and one R-field. The PHR MAC CE in FIGS. 17A and 18A may bedefined as follows. Ci: if there is an SCell configured with SCellIndexi, Ci field may indicate whether one or more power headroom fields arereport for the SCell with SCellIndex i. The Ci field is set to “1” toindicate that one or more power headroom fields are reported for theSCell with SCellIndex i. The Ci field is set to “0” to indicate that nopower headroom report is reported for the SCell with SCellIndex i. Asshown in the FIGS. 17A and 18A, the PHR MAC CE may include powerheadroom for up to 7 SCells with configured uplink and with SCellIndexbetween 1 to 7.

PHR MAC CE is identified by an LCID in a MAC subheader. The MACsubheader may include an LCID and a Length field. Extended PHR MAC CEhas a variable size. In an example embodiment, one octet with C fieldsmay be used for indicating the presence of PH per SCell when the highestSCellIndex of SCell with configured uplink is less than eight (FIGS. 17Aand 18A). Four octet with C fields may be used for indicating thepresence of PH per SCell when the highest SCellIndex of SCell withconfigured uplink is greater than seven (FIGS. 17B and 18B). Ci fieldindicates the presence of a PH field for a corresponding SCell. The Cifield set to “1” indicates that a PH field for the corresponding SCellis reported. The Ci field set to “0” indicates that a PH field for thecorresponding SCell is not reported.

FIG. 17B and FIG. 18B show example PHR MAC CE fields, when more thanseven SCells with configured uplink are configured. In an exampleembodiment, when an SCell with configured downlink and uplink and withSCellIndex i of greater than 7 is configured, the SCells may be groupedinto up to 4 subgroups. SCellIndex of greater than 7 may be indicated bya subgroup number and a Ci. Up to four subgroups may be configured andSCellIndex=subgroup number*8+Ci. This example embodiment, may reduceindex Ci to a number below 8. PHR MAC CE presence field of four octetsare applied. An octet is applicable to a subgroup. For example, octetone is applied to the first 7 SCells (ServCellIndex from 1 to 7, andsubgroup 0), Octet two is applied to the following 8 SCells(ServCellIndex of 8 to 15, or subgroup 1 & Ci from 0 to 7 in subgroup 1)and Octet three is applied to the following 8 SCells (ServCellIndex of16 to 23, or subgroup 2 & Ci from 0 to 7 in subgroup 2) so on. An Octetin a PHR MAC CE may correspond to a pre-defined subgroup. If an SCell isconfigured, its corresponding Ci field indicates the presence of powerheadroom fields of the SCell in the PHR MAC CE, otherwise no powerheadroom fields may be included for an SCell that is not configured. TheCi field is set to “1” to indicate that power headroom fields areincluded for the corresponding SCell. The Ci field is set to “0” toindicate that no power headroom report is included in the correspondingSCell; R is a reserved bit.

If there is an SCell configured with CellIndex i in a given subgroup, Cifield may indicate the presence of power headroom fields of the SCellwith SCellIndex=subgroup number*8+Ci, else no power headroom may beincluded for an un-configured SCell. The Ci field is set to “1” toindicate that one or more power headroom are present for thecorresponding SCell with SCellIndex=subgroup number*8+Ci. The Ci fieldis set to “0” to indicate that no power headroom report is present forthe corresponding SCell.

In an example embodiment, when a cell is not configured, the eNB mayignore the bit in the corresponding presence octet. The primary cell isalways active, therefore, the PHR for it is always transmitted (e.g. Rbit in Octet 1).

E-UTRAN may configure the legacy Extended PHR when more than one and upto eight Serving Cell(s) with uplink is configured and none of theserving cells with uplink configured has a servingCellIndex higher thanseven and if PUCCH on SCell is not configured and if dual connectivityis not configured. For extendedPHR, the Extended Power Headroom Report(PHR) MAC control element is identified by a MAC PDU subheader includingan LCID. Extended PHR MAC CE has a variable size. When Type 2 PH isreported, the octet containing the Type 2 PH field may be included firstafter the octet indicating the presence of PH per SCell and followed byan octet containing the associated PCMAX,c field (if reported). Thenfollows in ascending order based on the ServCellIndex an octet with theType 1 PH field and an octet with the associated PCMAX,c field (ifreported), for the PCell and for each SCell indicated in the bitmap.

Extended Power Headroom Report (ExtendedPHR2) may be configured when anyof the serving cells with uplink configured has a servingCellIndexhigher than seven Enhanced Extended Power Headroom Report (PHR) may beconfigured when PUCCH SCell is configured. Enhanced Extended PowerHeadroom Report (PHR) MAC control elements are identified by a MAC PDUsubheader including an LCID. Extended PHR MAC CE has a variable size.One octet with C fields may be used for indicating the presence of PHper SCell when the highest SCellIndex of SCell with configured uplink isless than 8. Four octet with C fields may be used for indicating thepresence of PH per SCell when the highest SCellIndex of SCell withconfigured uplink is greater than 7.

When Type 2 PH is reported for the PCell, the octet containing the Type2 PH field may be included first after the octet(s) indicating thepresence of PH per SCell and followed by an octet containing theassociated PCMAX,c field (if reported). Then follows the Type 2 PH fieldfor the PUCCH SCell (if PUCCH on SCell is configured and Type 2 PH isreported for the PUCCH SCell), followed by an octet containing theassociated PCMAX,c field (if reported). Then follows in ascending orderbased on the ServCellIndex an octet with the Type 1 PH field and anoctet with the associated PCMAX,c field (if reported), for the PCell andfor each SCell indicated in the bitmap.

Some example Extended PHR MAC CE fields may be defined as follows: V:this field indicates if the PH value is based on a real transmission ora reference format. For Type 1 PH, V=0 indicates real transmission onPUSCH and V=1 indicates that a PUSCH reference format is used. For Type2 PH, V=0 indicates real transmission on PUCCH and V=1 indicates that aPUCCH reference format is used. For both Type 1 and Type 2 PH, V=0indicates the presence of the octet containing the associated PCMAX,cfield, and V=1 indicates that the octet containing the associatedPCMAX,c field is omitted. Power Headroom (PH) field indicates the powerheadroom level. The length of the field is 6 bits. P field indicateswhether the MAC entity applies power backoff due to power management (asallowed by P-MPRc). The MAC entity may set P=1 if the correspondingPCMAX,c field would have had a different value if no power backoff dueto power management had been applied. PCMAX,c field, if present,indicates the PCMAX,c or {tilde over (P)}_(CMAX,c) used for calculationof the preceding PH field.

There may be two types of UE power headroom reports, Type 1 and Type 2.A UE power headroom PH may be valid for subframe i for serving cell c.

If the UE is configured with an SCG, and if a higher layer parameterphr-ModeOtherCG-r12 for a CG indicates ‘virtual’ for power headroomreports transmitted on that CG, the UE may compute PH assuming that itdoes not transmit a PUSCH/PUCCH on any serving cell of the other CG.

If the UE is configured with an SCG for computing power headroom forcells belonging to MCG, the term ‘serving cell’ may refer to a servingcell belonging to the MCG. For computing power headroom for cellsbelonging to an SCG, the term ‘serving cell’ may refer to a serving cellbelonging to the SCG. The term ‘primary cell’ may refer to the PSCell ofthe SCG. If the UE is configured with a PUCCH SCell for computing powerheadroom for cells belonging to a primary PUCCH group, the term ‘servingcell’ may refer to a serving cell belonging to the primary PUCCH group.For computing power headroom for cells belonging to a secondary PUCCHgroup, the term ‘serving cell’ may refer to serving cell belonging tothe secondary PUCCH group. The term ‘primary cell’ may refer to thePUCCH-SCell of the secondary PUCCH group.

An example Type 1 and Type 2 power headroom calculations is presentedhere. Example parameters and example calculation method is presented instandard document 3GPP TS 36.213 standard documents of the correspondingLTE release.

Type 1:

If the UE transmits PUSCH without PUCCH in subframe i for serving cellc, power headroom for a Type 1 report may be computed using

PH _(type1,c)(i)=P _(CMAX,c)(i)−{10 log₁₀(M _(PUSCH,c)(i))+P _(O) _(_)_(PUSCH,c)(j)+α_(c)(j)·PL _(c)+Δ_(TF,c)(i)+f _(c)(i)}[dB]

where, example P_(CMAX,c)(i), M_(PUSCH,c)(i), P_(O) _(_) _(PUSCH,c)(i),α_(c)(j), PL_(c), Δ_(TF,c)(i) and f_(c)(i) may be defined as follows.P_(CMAX,c)(i) may be the configured UE transmit power in subframe i forserving cell c and {circumflex over (P)}_(CMAX,c)(i) may be the linearvalue of P_(CMAX,c)(i). M_(PUSCH,c)(i) may be the bandwidth of the PUSCHresource assignment expressed in number of resource blocks valid forsubframe i and serving cell c.

PL_(c) is, for example, the downlink path loss estimate calculated inthe UE for serving cell c in dB and PL_(c)=referenceSignalPower—higherlayer filtered RSRP, where referenceSignalPower is provided by higherlayers. The UE may measure on or more pathloss values employing signalsreceived on one or more pathloss reference cells. A pathloss referencecell may be configured for a serving cell. The UE may calculate PL_(c)and may employ one or more pathloss values (PL_(c)) for calculation ofType 1 and Type 2 power headroom fields. If serving cell c belongs to aTAG containing the primary cell then, for the uplink of the primarycell, the primary cell may be used as the reference serving cell fordetermining referenceSignalPower and higher layer filtered RSRP. For theuplink of the secondary cell, the serving cell configured by the higherlayer parameter pathlossReferenceLinking may be used as the referenceserving cell for determining referenceSignalPower and higher layerfiltered RSRP. If serving cell c belongs to a TAG containing the PSCellthen, for the uplink of the PSCell, the PSCell may be used as thereference serving cell for determining referenceSignalPower and higherlayer filtered RSRP. For the uplink of the secondary cell other thanPSCell, the serving cell configured by the higher layer parameterpathlossReferenceLinking may be used as the reference serving cell fordetermining referenceSignalPower and higher layer filtered RSRP.

Po_PUSCH, c(j) may be configured employing RRC configuration parameters.If the UE is configured with higher layer parameterUplinkPowerControlDedicated-v12x0 for serving cell c and if subframe ibelongs to uplink power control subframe set 2 as indicated by thehigher layer parameter tpc-SubframeSet-r12. For j=0 or 1,α_(c)(j)=α_(c,2)ε{0, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1}. α_(c,2) is theparameter alpha-SubframeSet2-r12 provided by higher layers for eachserving cell c. For j=2, α_(c)(j)=1. Otherwise: For j=0 or 1, α_(c)ε{0,0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1} may be a 3-bit parameter provided byhigher layers for serving cell c. For j=2, α_(c)(j)=1; PL_(c) may be thedownlink path loss estimate calculated in the UE for serving cell c indB and PL_(c)=referenceSignalPower−higher layer filtered RSRP, wherereferenceSignalPower is provided by higher layers and RSRP for thereference serving cell and the higher layer filter configuration for thereference serving cell; Δ_(TF,c)(i)=10 log₁₀ ((2^(BPRE·K,)−1)·β_(offset)^(PUSCH)) for K_(S)=1.25 and 0 for K_(S)=0 where K is given by theparameter deltaMCS-Enabled provided by higher layers for each servingcell c. BPRE and β_(offset) ^(PUSCH), for each serving cell c, arecomputed as below. K_(S)=0 for transmission mode 2; f(i) may be afunction of power control commands.

If the UE transmits PUSCH with PUCCH in subframe i for serving cell c,power headroom for a Type 1 report may be computed using:

PH _(type1,c)(i)={tilde over (P)} _(CMAX,c)(i)−{10 log₁₀(M_(PUSCH,c)(i))+P _(O) _(_) _(PUSCH,c)(j)+α_(c)(j)·PL _(c)+Δ_(TF,c)(i)+f_(c)(i)} [dB]

{tilde over (P)}_(CMAX,c)(i) may be computed assuming a PUSCH onlytransmission in subframe i. For this case, the physical layer maydeliver {tilde over (P)}_(CMAX,c)(i) instead of P_(CMAX,c) (i) to higherlayers. If the UE does not transmit PUSCH in subframe i for serving cellc, power headroom for a Type 1 report may be computed using

PH _(type1,c)(i)={tilde over (P)} _(CMAX,c)(i)−{P _(O) _(_)_(PUSCH,c)(1)+α_(c)(1)·PL _(c) +f _(c)(i)} [dB]

where, example {tilde over (P)}_(CMAX,c)(i) may be computed assumingMPR=0 dB, A-MPR=0 dB, P-MPR=0 dB and □TC=0 dB.

Type 2:

If the UE transmits PUSCH simultaneous with PUCCH in subframe i for theprimary cell, power headroom for a Type 2 report is computed using:

${{PH}_{{type}\; 2}(i)} = {{P_{{CMAX},c}(i)} - {10\; {{\log_{10}\left( \begin{matrix}10^{{({{10\; {\log_{10}{({M_{{PUSCH},c}{(i)}})}}} + {P_{{O\_ {PUSCH}},c}{(j)}} + {{\alpha_{c}{(j)}} \cdot {PL}_{c}} + {\Delta_{{TF},c}{(i)}} + {f_{c}{(i)}}})}\text{/}10} \\{+ 10^{{({P_{0{\_ {PUCCH}}} + {PL}_{c} + {h{({n_{CQI},n_{HARQ},n_{SR}})}} + {\Delta_{F\_ {PUCCH}}{(F)}} + {\Delta_{TxD}{(F^{\prime})}} + {g{(i)}}})}\text{/}10}}\end{matrix} \right)}\lbrack{dB}\rbrack}}}$

If the UE transmits PUSCH without PUCCH in subframe i for the primarycell, power headroom for a Type 2 report is computed using:

${{PH}_{{type}\; 2}(i)} = {{P_{{CMAX},c}(i)} - {10\; {{\log_{10}\left( \begin{matrix}10^{{({{10\; {\log_{10}{({M_{{PUSCH},c}{(i)}})}}} + {P_{{{O\_}{PUSCH}},c}{(j)}} + {{\alpha_{c}{(j)}} \cdot {PL}_{c}} + {\Delta_{{TF},c}{(i)}} + {f_{c}{(i)}}})}\text{/}10} \\{+ 10^{{({P_{0{\_ {PUCCH}}} + {PL}_{c} + {g{(i)}}})}\text{/}10}}\end{matrix} \right)}\lbrack{dB}\rbrack}}}$

where, example P_(CMAX,c)(i), M_(PUSCH,c)(i), P_(O) _(_) _(PUSCH,c)(j),α_(c)(j), Δ_(TF,c)(i) and f_(c)(i) may be of the primary cellparameters. If the UE transmits PUCCH without PUSCH in subframe i forthe primary cell, power headroom for a Type 2 report is computed using:

${{PH}_{{type}\; 2}(i)} = {{P_{{CMAX},c}(i)} - {10\; {{\log_{10}\begin{pmatrix}10^{{({{P_{{O\_ {PUSCH}},c}{(1)}} + {{\alpha_{c}{(1)}} \cdot {PL}_{c}} + {f_{c}{(i)}}})}\text{/}10} \\{+ 10^{{({P_{0{\_ {PUCCH}}} + {PL}_{c} + {h{({n_{CQI},n_{HARQ},n_{SR}})}} + {\Delta_{F\_ {PUCCH}}{(F)}} + {\Delta_{TxD}{(F^{\prime})}} + {g{(i)}}})}\text{/}10}}\end{pmatrix}}\lbrack{dB}\rbrack}}}$

where, example P_(O) _(_) _(PUSCH,c)(1), α_(c)(1) and f_(c)(i) are theprimary cell parameters. If the UE does not transmit PUCCH or PUSCH insubframe i for the primary cell, power headroom for a Type 2 report iscomputed using:

${{PH}_{{type}\; 2}(i)} = {{{\overset{\sim}{P}}_{{CMAX},c}(i)} - {10\; {{\log_{10}\begin{pmatrix}10^{{({{P_{{O\_ {PUSCH}},c}{(1)}} + {{\alpha_{c}{(1)}} \cdot {PL}_{c}} + {f_{c}{(i)}}})}\text{/}10} \\{+ 10^{{({P_{0{\_ {PUCCH}}} + {PL}_{c} + {g{(i)}}})}\text{/}10}}\end{pmatrix}}\lbrack{dB}\rbrack}}}$

where, example {tilde over (P)}_(CMAX,c) (i) may be computed assumingMPR=0 dB, A-MPR=0 dB, P-MPR=0 dB and TC=0 dB, P_(O) _(_) _(PUSCH,c) (1),α_(c)(1) and f_(c)(i) are the primary cell parameters. If the UE isunable to determine whether there is a PUCCH transmission correspondingto PDSCH transmission(s) or not, or which PUCCH resource is used, insubframe i for the primary cell, before generating power headroom for aType 2 report, upon (E)PDCCH detection, with the following conditions:(1) if both PUCCH format 1b with channel selection and simultaneousPUCCH-PUSCH are configured for the UE, or (2) if PUCCH format 1b withchannel selection is used for HARQ-ACK feedback for the UE configuredwith PUCCH format 3 and simultaneous PUCCH-PUSCH are configured, then,UE may be allowed to compute power headroom for a Type 2 using:

${{PH}_{{type}\; 2}(i)} = {{P_{{CMAX},c}(i)} - {10\; {{\log_{10}\begin{pmatrix}10^{{({{10\; {\log_{10}{({M_{{PUSCH},c}{(i)}})}}} + {P_{{O\_ {PUSCH}},c}{(j)}} + {{\alpha_{c}{(j)}} \cdot {PL}_{c}} + {\Delta_{{TF},c}{(i)}} + {f_{c}{(i)}}})}\text{/}10} \\{+ 10^{{({P_{0{\_ {PUCCH}}} + {PL}_{c} + {g{(i)}}})}\text{/}10}}\end{pmatrix}}\lbrack{dB}\rbrack}}}$

where, example P_(CMAX,c)(i), M_(PUSCH,c)(i), P_(O) _(_) _(PUSCH,c)(j),α_(c)(j), Δ_(TF,c)(i) and f_(c)(i) are the primary cell parameters.

The power headroom may be rounded to the closest value in the range [40;−23] dB with steps of 1 dB and is delivered by the physical layer tohigher layers. If the UE is configured with higher layer parameterUplinkPowerControlDedicated-v12x0 for serving cell c and if subframe ibelongs to uplink power control subframe set 2 as indicated by thehigher layer parameter tpc-SubframeSet-r12, the UE may use f_(c,2)(i)instead of f_(c)(i) to compute PH_(type1,c)(i) and PH_(type2,c)(i) forsubframe i and serving cell c.

FIG. 20 is an example flow diagram as per an aspect of an embodiment ofthe present invention. A wireless device may receive at least onemessage from a base station at 2010. The message(s) may compriseconfiguration parameters of one or more secondary cells.

The wireless device may receive an activation/deactivation media accesscontrol control element (A/D MAC CE) at 2020. If up to seven of the oneor more secondary cells are each configured with a cell index having avalue between one and seven, then the A/D MAC CE may be of a fixed sizeof one octet and the A/D MAC CE may be identified by a first subheadercomprising a first logical channel identifier (LCID). Otherwise, the A/DMAC CE may be of a fixed size of four octets and the A/D MAC CE may beidentified by a second subheader comprising a second LCID different fromthe first LCID.

The wireless device may activate and/or deactivate at least onesecondary cell in the one or more secondary cells at 2030 according tothe A/D MAC CE. According to an embodiment, a bit in the A/D MAC CE mayindicate an activation/deactivation status of a corresponding secondarycell when the corresponding secondary cell is configured. According toan embodiment, the wireless device may ignore a bit in the A/D MAC CEwhen a corresponding secondary cell is not configured. According to anembodiment, a bit in the A/D MAC CE may indicate that a correspondingsecondary cell is activated when the bit is set to one and thecorresponding secondary cell is configured. According to an embodiment,a bit in the A/D MAC CE may indicate that a corresponding secondary cellis deactivated when the bit is set to zero and the correspondingsecondary cell is configured.

According to an embodiment, the first LCID and the second LCID may eachhave a length of five bits. According to an embodiment, the firstsubheader may have a size of one octet and comprise the first LCID.According to an embodiment, the second subheader may have a size of oneoctet and comprises the second LCID. According to an embodiment, thefirst subheader and the second subheader may not include a length field.According to an embodiment, the second LCID may be employed when morethan seven of the one or more secondary cells are configured.

According to an embodiment, a wireless device may receive at least onemessage comprising configuration parameters of one or more secondarycells at 2010. The wireless device may receive anactivation/deactivation media access control control element (A/D MACCE) at 2020. If the configuration parameters meet a first criterion,then the A/D MAC CE may be of a fixed size of one octet and the A/D MACCE may be identified by a first subheader comprising a first logicalchannel identifier (LCID). Otherwise, the A/D MAC CE may be of a fixedsize of four octets and the A/D MAC CE may be identified by a secondsubheader with a second LCID different from the first LCID. According toan embodiment, the first LCID and the second LCID may each have a lengthof five bits. According to an embodiment, the first subheader may have asize of one octet and comprise the first LCID. According to anembodiment, the second subheader may have a size of one octet andcomprise the second LCID. According to an embodiment, the firstsubheader and the second subheader may not include a length field.According to an embodiment, the second LCID may be employed when morethan seven of the one or more secondary cells are configured.

At 2030, the wireless device may activate and/or deactivating at leastone secondary cell in the one or more secondary cells according to theA/D MAC CE. According to an embodiment, a bit in the A/D MAC CE mayindicate an activation/deactivation status of a corresponding secondarycell when the corresponding secondary cell is configured. According toan embodiment, the wireless device may ignore a bit in the A/D MAC CEwhen a corresponding secondary cell is not configured. According to anembodiment, a bit in the A/D MAC CE may indicate that a correspondingsecondary cell is activated when the bit is set to one and thecorresponding secondary cell is configured. According to an embodiment,a bit in the A/D MAC CE may indicate that a corresponding secondary cellis deactivated when the bit is set to zero and the correspondingsecondary cell is configured.

FIG. 21 is an example flow diagram as per an aspect of an embodiment ofthe present invention. A base station may transmit at least one messageto a wireless device at 2110. The message(s) may comprise configurationparameters of one or more secondary cells.

At 2120, the base station may transmit an activation/deactivation mediaaccess control control element (A/D MAC CE). If up to seven of the oneor more secondary cells are each configured with a cell index having avalue between one and seven, then the A/D MAC CE may be of a fixed sizeof one octet and the A/D MAC CE may be identified by a first subheadercomprising a first logical channel identifier (LCID). Otherwise, the A/DMAC CE may be of a fixed size of four octets and the A/D MAC CE may beidentified by a second subheader with a second LCID different from thefirst LCID. According to an embodiment, the first LCID and the secondLCID may each have a length of five bits. According to an embodiment,the first subheader may have a size of one octet and may comprise thefirst LCID. According to an embodiment, the second subheader may have asize of one octet and may comprise the second LCID. According to anembodiment, the first subheader and the second subheader may not includea length field. According to an embodiment, the second LCID may beemployed when more than seven of the one or more secondary cells areconfigured.

At 2130, the base station may activate and/or deactivate a status of atleast one secondary cell in the one or more secondary cells according tothe A/D MAC CE. According to an embodiment, a bit in the A/D MAC CE mayindicate an activation/deactivation status of a corresponding secondarycell when the corresponding secondary cell is configured. According toan embodiment, the wireless device may ignore a bit in the A/D MAC CEwhen a corresponding secondary cell is not configured. According to anembodiment, a bit in the A/D MAC CE may indicate that a correspondingsecondary cell is activated when the bit is set to one and thecorresponding secondary cell is configured.

FIG. 22 is an example flow diagram as per an aspect of an embodiment ofthe present invention. A wireless device may receive at least onemessage from a base station at 2210. The message(s) may compriseconfiguration parameters of one or more secondary cells. According to anembodiment, the one or more secondary cells may comprise a secondaryphysical uplink control channel (PUCCH) secondary cell.

At 2220, the wireless device may measure one or more pathloss valuesemploying signals received on one or more pathloss reference cells. At2230, the wireless device may calculate one or more fields of a powerheadroom report media access control control element (PHR MAC CE)employing the one or more pathloss values.

The wireless device may transmit the PHR MAC CE at 2240. The PHR MAC CEmay comprise a presence field. The presence field may comprise aplurality of presence bits. The presence field may be of a fixed size ofone octet if up to seven of the one or more secondary cells are eachconfigured with a cell index having a value between one and seven. Thepresence field may be of a fixed size of four octets if the one or moresecondary cells comprise more than seven secondary cells with configureduplinks.

According to an embodiment, the PHR MAC CE may be identified by asubheader. The subheader may comprise a logical channel identifier(LCID) field and a length field.

According to an embodiment, a bit in the presence field may indicatewhether one or more power headroom fields are present for acorresponding secondary cell. According to an embodiment, the wirelessdevice may set a bit in the presence field to zero when a correspondingsecondary cell is not configured. According to an embodiment, a bit inthe presence field may indicate that one or more power headroom fieldsare present for a corresponding secondary cell when the bit is set toone. According to an embodiment, a bit in the presence bits may indicatethat no power headroom field is present for a corresponding secondarycell when the bit is set to zero. According to an embodiment, the one ormore fields may comprise one or more Type 1 power headroom fields and/orone or more Type 2 power headroom fields.

FIG. 23 is an example flow diagram as per an aspect of an embodiment ofthe present invention. A bas station may transmit at least one messageto a wireless device at 2310. The message(s) may comprise configurationparameters of one or more secondary cells. According to an embodiment,the one or more secondary cells may comprise a secondary physical uplinkcontrol channel (PUCCH) secondary cell.

At 2320, the base station may receive a power headroom report mediaaccess control control element (PHR MAC CE) comprising a presence field.The presence field may comprise a plurality of presence bits. Thepresence field may be of a fixed size of one octet if up to seven of theone or more secondary cells are each configured with a cell index havinga value between one and seven. The presence field may be of a fixed sizeof four octets if the one or more secondary cells comprise more thanseven secondary cells with configured uplinks According to anembodiment, the PHR MAC CE may be identified by a subheader. Thesubheader may comprise a logical channel identifier (LCID) field and alength field. According to an embodiment, a bit in the presence fieldmay indicate whether one or more power headroom fields are present for acorresponding secondary cell. According to an embodiment, the basestation may ignore a bit in the presence field when a correspondingsecondary cell is not configured. According to an embodiment, a bit inthe presence field may indicate that one or more power headroom fieldsare present for a corresponding secondary cell when the bit is set toone. According to an embodiment, a bit in the presence field mayindicate that no power headroom field is present for a correspondingsecondary cell when the bit is set to zero. According to an embodiment,the PHR MAC CE may comprise one or more Type 1 power headroom fieldsand/or one or more Type 2 power headroom fields.

At 2330, the base station may transmit one or more control commands on(e)PDCCH (e.g. DCI comprising one or more power control commands)employing at least the PHR MAC CE to the wireless device. The controlcommands may comprise downlink control information (DCI) transmitted on(e)PDCCH. PHR MAC CE includes information about the available powerheadroom for active cells with a configured uplink. This may allow theeNB to determine how much power the UE may utilize on active cells foruplink power transmission in the subframe for which PHR is calculated.The eNB may employ this information for uplink scheduling, resourceallocation, transmission format/MCS determination, and/or power controlcommand transmission to the UE.

In an example embodiment, a wireless device may receive at least onemessage comprising configuration parameters of one or more secondarycells. The wireless device may receive an activation/deactivation mediaaccess control control element (A/D MAC CE).

In an example, if/when the configuration parameters meet a firstcriterion, then the A/D MAC CE is of a first format, otherwise, the A/DMAC CE is of a second format. For example, the first criterion is met ifup to seven of the one or more secondary cells are each configured witha cell index having a value between one and seven, otherwise, the secondcriterion is met. For example, if up to seven of the one or moresecondary cells are each configured with a cell index having a valuebetween one and seven, then the A/D MAC CE is of a fixed size of oneoctet, otherwise, the A/D MAC CE is of a fixed size of four octet.

In an example, if/when the configuration parameters meet the firstcriterion, then the A/D MAC CE is identified by a first subheadercomprising a first logical channel identifier (LCID), otherwise, the A/DMAC CE is identified by a second subheader with a second LCID differentfrom the first LCID. For example, the first criterion is met if up toseven of the one or more secondary cells are each configured with a cellindex having a value between one and seven, otherwise, the secondcriterion is met. For example, if up to seven of the one or moresecondary cells are each configured with a cell index having a valuebetween one and seven, then identified by the first subheader comprisingthe first logical channel identifier (LCID), otherwise, the A/D MAC CEis identified by the second subheader with the second LCID differentfrom the first LCID.

The wireless device may activate or deactivate at least one secondarycell in the one or more secondary cells according to the A/D MAC CE.

In an example embodiment, a wireless device may receive at least onemessage comprising configuration parameters of one or more secondarycells. The wireless device transmits a PHR MAC CE. The PHR MAC CEcomprises a presence field comprising a plurality of presence bits. Thepresence field is of a fixed size of one octet when the configurationparameters meet a first criterion. The presence field is of a fixed sizeof four octets when the configuration parameters meet a secondcriterion. For example, the presence field is of a fixed size of oneoctet when up to seven of the one or more secondary cells are eachconfigured with a cell index having a value between one and seven andPUCCH secondary cell is not configured. In an example, the presencefield may be of a fixed size of four octets when the one or moresecondary cells comprise more than seven secondary cells with configureduplinks. In an example, the presence field may be of a fixed size offour octets when a secondary PUCCH is configured.

The wireless device may measure one or more pathloss values employingsignals received on one or more pathloss reference cells. The wirelessdevice may calculate one or more fields of a PHR MAC CE employing theone or more pathloss values. The base station may transmit one or morecontrol commands employing at least the PHR MAC CE. The control commandsmay be transmitted on a physical downlink control channel.

With regard to carrier aggregation, the configured set of serving cellsfor a UE may consists of one PCell and one or more SCells. If DC is notconfigured, one additional PUCCH may be configured on an SCell, thePUCCH SCell. When a PUCCH SCell is configured, an RRC may configure themapping of serving cell(s) to a Primary PUCCH group and/or a SecondaryPUCCH group (e.g., for each SCell, whether the PCell and/or the PUCCHSCell is employed for the transmission of ACK/NAKs and/or CSI reports).

With regard to power headroom, if the UE transmits a PUSCH without PUCCHin subframe i for serving cell, power headroom for a Type 1 report maybe computed employing

PH _(type1,c)(i)=P _(CMAX,c)(i)−{10 log₁₀(M _(PUSCH,c)(i))+P _(O) _(_)_(PUSCH,c)(j)+α_(c)(j)·PL _(c)+Δ_(TF,c)(i)+f _(c)(i)} [dB]

For extendedPHR, the Extended Power Headroom Report (PHR) MAC controlelement may be identified by a MAC PDU subheader with an LCID. It mayhave a variable size. When a Type 2 PH is reported, the octet containingthe Type 2 PH field may be included first after the octet indicating thepresence of PH per SCell and followed by an octet containing theassociated PCMAX,c field (if reported). Following in ascending orderbased on the ServCellIndex may be an octet with the Type 1 PH field andan octet with the associated PCMAX,c field (if reported), for the PCelland for each SCell indicated in the bitmap.

For extendedPHR2, the Extended Power Headroom Report (PHR) MAC controlelements may be identified by a MAC PDU subheader with an LCID. They mayhave variable sizes and. One octet with C fields may be employed toindicate the presence of PH per SCell when the highest SCellIndex ofSCell with configured uplink is less than 8, otherwise four octets maybe employed. When Type 2 PH is reported for the PCell, the octetcontaining the Type 2 PH field may be included first after the octet(s)indicating the presence of PH per SCell and followed by an octetcontaining the associated PCMAX,c field (if reported). The Type 2 PHfield for the PUCCH SCell may follow (if PUCCH on SCell is configuredand Type 2 PH is reported for the PUCCH SCell), followed by an octetcontaining the associated PCMAX,c field (if reported). Then following inascending order based on the ServCellIndex may be an octet with the Type1 PH field and an octet with the associated PCMAX,c field (if reported),for the PCell and for each SCell indicated in the bitmap.

The Extended PHR MAC Control Elements may be defined. A Ci field mayindicate the presence of a PH field for the SCell with SCellIndex i. TheCi field set to “1” may indicate that a PH field for the SCell withSCellIndex i is reported. The Ci field set to “0” may indicates that aPH field for the SCell with SCellIndex i is not reported;

The Activation/Deactivation MAC control element of one octet may beidentified by a MAC PDU subheader with an LCID. It may have a fixed sizeand comprise of a single octet containing seven C-fields and oneR-field. The Activation/Deactivation MAC control element with one octetmay be defined, for example, as shown in FIG. 14A and FIG. 14B. TheActivation/Deactivation MAC control element of four octets may beidentified by a MAC PDU subheader with LCID. It may have a fixed sizeand may comprise of a four octets containing 31 C-fields and oneR-field. The Activation/Deactivation MAC control element of four octetsmay be defined, for example with index value 11000 correlating with anLCID value of Activation/Deactivation (4 octets) and index value 11011correlating an LCID value of Activation/Deactivation (1 octet).

For a case with no serving cell with a ServCellIndex larger than 7, anActivation/Deactivation MAC control element of one octet may be applied,otherwise an Activation/Deactivation MAC control element of four octetsmay be applied. If there is an SCell configured with SCellIndex i, a Cifield may indicate the activation/deactivation status of the SCell withSCellIndex i, else the MAC entity may ignore the Ci field. The Ci fieldmay be set to “1” to indicate that the SCell with SCellIndex i may beactivated. The Ci field may be set to “0” to indicate that the SCellwith SCellIndex i may be deactivated. R may comprise a reserved bit thatmay be set to “0”.

If a MAC entity receives an Activation/Deactivation MAC control elementin a TTI activating the SCell, the MAC entity may activate the SCell.The activation of the SCell may apply normal SCell operation(s)including: SRS transmissions on the SCell; CQI/PMI/RI/PTI reporting forthe SCell; PDCCH monitoring on the SCell; PDCCH monitoring for theSCell; and PUCCH transmissions on the SCell, if configured. The MACentity may start and/or restart the sCellDeactivationTimer associatedwith the SCell. The MAC entity may trigger PHR.

Otherwise, if the MAC entity receives an Activation/Deactivation MACcontrol element in the TTI deactivating the SCell; or if thesCellDeactivationTimer associated with the activated SCell expires inthe TTI: in the TTI, the MAC may: deactivate the SCell; stop thesCellDeactivationTimer associated with the SCell; and/or flush HARQbuffers associated with the SCell.

In this specification, “a” and “an” and similar phrases are to beinterpreted as “at least one” and “one or more.” In this specification,the term “may” is to be interpreted as “may, for example.” In otherwords, the term “may” is indicative that the phrase following the term“may” is an example of one of a multitude of suitable possibilities thatmay, or may not, be employed to one or more of the various embodiments.If A and B are sets and every element of A is also an element of B, A iscalled a subset of B. In this specification, only non-empty sets andsubsets are considered. For example, possible subsets of B={cell1,cell2} are: {cell1}, {cell2}, and {cell1, cell2}.

In this specification, parameters (Information elements: IEs) maycomprise one or more objects, and each of those objects may comprise oneor more other objects. For example, if parameter (IE) N comprisesparameter (IE) M, and parameter (IE) M comprises parameter (IE) K, andparameter (IE) K comprises parameter (information element) J, then, forexample, N comprises K, and N comprises J. In an example embodiment,when one or more messages comprise a plurality of parameters, it impliesthat a parameter in the plurality of parameters is in at least one ofthe one or more messages, but does not have to be in each of the one ormore messages.

Many of the elements described in the disclosed embodiments may beimplemented as modules. A module is defined here as an isolatableelement that performs a defined function and has a defined interface toother elements. The modules described in this disclosure may beimplemented in hardware, software in combination with hardware,firmware, wetware (i.e. hardware with a biological element) or acombination thereof, all of which are behaviorally equivalent. Forexample, modules may be implemented as a software routine written in acomputer language configured to be executed by a hardware machine (suchas C, C++, Fortran, Java, Basic, Matlab or the like) or amodeling/simulation program such as Simulink, Stateflow, GNU Octave, orLabVIEWMathScript. Additionally, it may be possible to implement modulesusing physical hardware that incorporates discrete or programmableanalog, digital and/or quantum hardware. Examples of programmablehardware comprise: computers, microcontrollers, microprocessors,application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs); field programmablegate arrays (FPGAs); and complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs).Computers, microcontrollers and microprocessors are programmed usinglanguages such as assembly, C, C++ or the like. FPGAs, ASICs and CPLDsare often programmed using hardware description languages (HDL) such asVHSIC hardware description language (VHDL) or Verilog that configureconnections between internal hardware modules with lesser functionalityon a programmable device. Finally, it needs to be emphasized that theabove mentioned technologies are often used in combination to achievethe result of a functional module.

The disclosure of this patent document incorporates material which issubject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection tothe facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or thepatent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Officepatent file or records, for the limited purposes required by law, butotherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

While various embodiments have been described above, it should beunderstood that they have been presented by way of example, and notlimitation. It will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevantart(s) that various changes in form and detail can be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope. In fact, after reading theabove description, it will be apparent to one skilled in the relevantart(s) how to implement alternative embodiments. Thus, the presentembodiments should not be limited by any of the above describedexemplary embodiments. In particular, it should be noted that, forexample purposes, the above explanation has focused on the example(s)using FDD communication systems. However, one skilled in the art willrecognize that embodiments of the invention may also be implemented in asystem comprising one or more TDD cells (e.g. frame structure 2 and/orframe structure 3-licensed assisted access). The disclosed methods andsystems may be implemented in wireless or wireline systems. The featuresof various embodiments presented in this invention may be combined. Oneor many features (method or system) of one embodiment may be implementedin other embodiments. Only a limited number of example combinations areshown to indicate to one skilled in the art the possibility of featuresthat may be combined in various embodiments to create enhancedtransmission and reception systems and methods.

In addition, it should be understood that any figures which highlightthe functionality and advantages, are presented for example purposesonly. The disclosed architecture is sufficiently flexible andconfigurable, such that it may be utilized in ways other than thatshown. For example, the actions listed in any flowchart may bere-ordered or only optionally used in some embodiments.

Further, the purpose of the Abstract of the Disclosure is to enable theU.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, andespecially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art whoare not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determinequickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of thetechnical disclosure of the application. The Abstract of the Disclosureis not intended to be limiting as to the scope in any way.

Finally, it is the applicant's intent that only claims that include theexpress language “means for” or “step for” be interpreted under 35U.S.C. 112, paragraph 6. Claims that do not expressly include the phrase“means for” or “step for” are not to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, by a wirelessdevice, at least one message comprising configuration parameters of oneor more secondary cells; measuring, by the wireless device, one or morepathloss values employing signals received on one or more pathlossreference cells; calculating one or more fields of a power headroomreport media access control control element (PHR MAC CE) employing theone or more pathloss values; and transmitting the PHR MAC CE, wherein:the PHR MAC CE comprises a presence field comprising a plurality ofpresence bits; the presence field is of a fixed size of one octet whenup to seven of the one or more secondary cells are each configured witha cell index having a value between one and seven; and the presencefield is of a fixed size of four octets when the one or more secondarycells comprise more than seven secondary cells with configured uplinks.2. The method of claim 1, wherein the PHR MAC CE is identified by asubheader, the subheader comprising a logical channel identifier (LCID)field and a length field.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein a bit in thepresence field indicates whether one or more power headroom fields arepresent for a corresponding secondary cell.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the wireless device sets a bit in the presence field to zerowhen a corresponding secondary cell is not configured.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein a bit in the presence field indicates that one or morepower headroom fields are present for a corresponding secondary cellwhen the bit is set to one.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein a bit inthe presence bits indicates that no power headroom field is present fora corresponding secondary cell when the bit is set to zero.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the one or more secondary cells comprise asecondary physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) secondary cell.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the one or more fields comprise one or moreType 1 power headroom fields and one or more Type 2 power headroomfields.
 9. A method comprising: transmitting, by base station to awireless device, at least one message comprising configurationparameters of one or more secondary cells; receiving a power headroomreport media access control control element (PHR MAC CE) comprising apresence field comprising a plurality of presence bits, wherein: thepresence field is of a fixed size of one octet when up to seven of theone or more secondary cells are each configured with a cell index havinga value between one and seven; and the presence field is of a fixed sizeof four octets when the one or more secondary cells comprise more thanseven secondary cells with configured uplinks; and transmitting, to thewireless device, one or more control commands employing at least the PHRMAC CE.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the PHR MAC CE is identifiedby a subheader comprising a logical channel identifier (LCID) field anda length field.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein a bit in the presencefield indicates whether one or more power headroom fields are presentfor a corresponding secondary cell.
 12. The method of claim 9, whereinthe base station ignores a bit in the presence field when acorresponding secondary cell is not configured.
 13. The method of claim9, wherein a bit in the presence field indicates that one or more powerheadroom fields are present for a corresponding secondary cell when thebit is set to one.
 14. The method of claim 9, wherein a bit in thepresence field indicates that no power headroom field is present for acorresponding secondary cell when the bit is set to zero.
 15. The methodof claim 9, wherein the one or more secondary cells comprise a secondaryphysical uplink control channel (PUCCH) secondary cell.
 16. The methodof claim 9, wherein the PHR MAC CE comprise one or more Type 1 powerheadroom fields and one or more Type 2 power headroom fields.
 17. Awireless device comprising: one or more processors; and memory storinginstructions that, when executed, cause the wireless device to: receiveat least one message comprising configuration parameters of one or moresecondary cells; measure one or more pathloss values employing signalsreceived on one or more pathloss reference cells; calculate one or morefields of a power headroom report media access control control element(PHR MAC CE) employing the one or more pathloss values; and transmit thePHR MAC CE, wherein: the PHR MAC CE comprises a presence fieldcomprising one or more presence bits; the presence field is of a fixedsize of one octet when up to seven of the one or more secondary cellsare each configured with a cell index having a value between one andseven; and the presence field is of a fixed size of four octets when theone or more secondary cells comprise more than seven secondary cellswith configured uplinks.
 18. The wireless device of claim 17, whereinthe PHR MAC CE is identified by a subheader comprising a logical channelidentifier (LCID) field and a length field.
 19. The wireless device ofclaim 17, wherein a bit in the presence field indicates whether one ormore power headroom fields are present for a corresponding secondarycell.
 20. The wireless device of claim 17, wherein a bit in the presencefield indicates that no power headroom field is present for acorresponding secondary cell when the bit is set to zero.